As President Donald Trump continues to crack down on illegal immigration, ICE agents are seeking out immigrants to arrest by all means necessary. An incident unfolded in Washington when a group of indigenous firefighters was busy putting out the Bear Gulch Fire in the Olympic National Forest near Shelton. They were pulled over by ICE agents who rounded them up and ordered them to line up for identification checks.
Rather than let the firefighters fight the active wildfire, the ICE officers were more interested in seeking out people to arrest. According to the context provided in a video posted on Instagram, witnesses observed the firefighters sitting on wooden logs in the forest. Meanwhile, ICE vehicles and officers swarmed the area, preventing them from doing their work.
The firefighters were warned not to record their interaction with the ICE agents; however, one person managed to capture a few seconds of footage, which was subsequently posted on Reddit. The man recording could be heard saying the situation was “crazy.” He then panned the video to show several fighters from the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes being detained.
The ICE agents could be seen discussing among themselves, but their conversation was inaudible. They ended up arresting two crew members from the group of firefighters lined up before them.
The video of the incident sparked outrage online from users who believe the ICE agents were out of line for their behaviour. One user wrote, “They literally want to watch our country burn. The turd reich.” Another commented, “Great use of funds. 20 guys to arrest town fire fighters that are literally fighting fires.”
“Where are they going to deport them to? They’re native,” someone in the comment section asked.
Another person called firefighters heroes who “work in the worst conditions to protect our forests and homes from burning.” The user angrily added, “They absolutely don’t deserve to be treated like this. This administration is out of control. F*ck Trump, f*ck ICE, and f*ck all the as*holes who put them in charge.”
One livid user wrote that it’s “absurd” that the government can afford to hire more ICE agents but not firefighters, while another questioned when firefighters became violent criminals. “…Maga and this administration is a f*cking joke! 🤡🤡🤡,” the user remarked.
Notably, the Incident Management Team overseeing the Bear Gulch Fire acknowledged that they were aware of the presence of Border Patrol officers at the scene. They also claimed that the officers did not disrupt any operations going on in the area. However, citizens online still insist that stopping firefighters from doing their jobs during a “life-threatening blaze” only endangers more lives and violates emergency protocols.
